Parachute pack



Sept. 6, 1955 J. GREGORY 2,717,133

PARACHUTE PACK Filed June 29, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORA/CYi J. GREGORY PARACHUTE PACK Sept. 6, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 29, 1953 J. GREGORY PARACHUTE PACK Sept. 6, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 29, 1953 4 W2 WM Z w \u 7 m wn3 1 4 a 2 if 3" I W United States Patent PARACHUTE PACK James Gregory, Guildford, England Application June 29, 1953, Serial No. 364,751

2 Claims. (Cl. 244-448) This invention relates to parachute packs for aviators, including air-crews and passengers of aircraft.

Parachute packs, as usually constructed, consist of containers made of canvas or like material, in the form of an envelope with loose flaps which can be coupled together over the folded parachute by releasable means, the opposite surface or base of the envelope or container being fitted with a rigid or semi-rigid frame in order to maintain the shape of the pack. Such packs have the drawback that the closure flaps, when coupled together after the stowing of the parachute, tend to bulge outwardly due to the pressure of the tightly packed parachute inside the container; this results in the formation of a most inconvenient and uncomfortable lump on which the wearer has to balance, if the pack is of the seat-type, or against which he has to lean, if the pack is of the backtype. Cushions usually have to be supplied to overcome this drawback, thereby increasing the weight and bulk of the equipment.

The present invention has for its main object to avoid the above-mentioned drawback, by providing an improved pack of relatively small depth or thickness, preventing the closure flaps from bulging outwards to any great extent, but allowing the opposite surface or wall of the container to become padded out by the internal pressure of the folded parachute so that it forms a relatively soft and comfortable cushion for the user.

Another object of the invention is to provide a parachute pack having the shape of a substantially rectangular box or satchel, its outer surface or wall being provided with closure flaps and also with stiffening means for resisting the pull of the flaps when closed, and the opposite surface intended for fitting to the wearers body being restrained from bulging when the parachute is stowed in the pack, so as to maintain a shallow box-like shape of the pack.

A further object is to provide means for restraining the bulging of the surface intended for fitting to the wearers body, by arranging, transverse stiffening members extending across the surface, and/or by providing internal connections between the two opposite surfaces.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment, given with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a rear view of a parachute pack embodying the invention, this pack being of the back-fitting type;

Fig. 2 is a corresponding view of thepack in open position, the parachute canopy and rigging lines being omitted;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the pack in closed position, partly broken away to show one of the concealed backstraps or risers of the harness;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line IVlV of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a detail on a smaller scale, showing in perspective the preferred arrangement of the stiffening frames to be fitted inside the pack.

The pack or container 10, as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, is of the back-fitting type intended to be worn behind the body and held in place by means of Waist bands 11 fitted with lugs 12; the latter can be connected together in front of the wearer by means of a conventional quick-release device serving also to secure the cheststraps or lift webs 13 and the leg straps or the like (not shown) by similar lugs.

The pack or container is made principally of canvas or other flexible material, preformed to the shape of a hollow box or satchel of substantially rectangular crosssection; it is provided internally with a stiffening frame 16 of substantially rectangularshape with rounded corners 17, as seen in Fig. 5, this frame being made for example of spring steel wire such as is used for the base-frame of ordinary parachute packs. The frame extends continuously around the border or perimeter of the container 10, substantially in or near the plane of its outer surface or wall, being made sufliciently flexible to allow the complete pack to bend longitudinally, and also to a smaller extent transversely, if necessary, so that the pack can accommodate itself to movements of the wearers body as well as to the shape of the backrest against which the pack may be placed.

The interior or canopy compartment of the container is normally covered by closure flaps on the outside of the pack; the top and bottom closure flaps 19, 20 and the side closure flaps 21, 22 engage with locking cones 23 carried by flexible tapes or loops 24 extending between the folds of the main canopy 25 when stowed in its compartment, as seen in Fig. 4. The pull of these flaps, when locked together in the closed position, is resisted by the stiffening frame 16, which prevents them from bulging outwards.

A pilot parachute 26 may also be provided, this being stowed between the side closure flaps 21, 22 and an ejector board 27 secured to the top closure flap 19. In the normal closed condition of the pack, these closure flaps will be held in place by the usual rip-cord pins 28 engaging with the locking cones 23, the rip cord extending to a handle (not shown) within reach of the wearer; the customary elastic cords 29 may be arranged upon the side closure flaps 21, 22 so as to assist their opening when released, but the provision of the pilot parachute 26 allows of dispensing with these flap-opening elastics, which are liable to cause trouble due to aging or perishing of the elastic material. The pilot parachute 26 is preferably of the well-known vane-fitted type working in conjunction with an ejector board 27; this pilot parachute will have eyeletted tabs or flaps attached to its top panel and engaged with the locking cones 23 for the closure flaps, so that it is maintained in a proper position for deployment when the rip cord is pulled to free the pins 28, the pilot parachute being then ejected into the air-stream and acting to lift the ejector board 27 and the flap 19 to which it is secured, followed by the progressive withdrawal of the main canopy 25 from the.

pack.

The rigging lines 30 attached to the main canopy 25 are normally housed in retaining loops 31 aligned in rows towards the opposite edges of a partition flap 32 provided inside the pack, as seen in Fig. 2; the rigging lines engaged in these loops extend transversely between the two rows of loops in a zigzag manner and have their ends connected to the main lift webs 33 in the usual Way. The partition flap 32 has two openings 34 for passage of the locking cones 23 and their tapes 24, the latter being attached to a pack-base member 35 which will engage the wearers back. This base member may be made of canvas or like flexible material but is conveniently stiffened by means of a central longitudinal member 36 and two transversely arched members 37, made of strip steel or non-rusting metal, welded or otherwise secured together; the central member 36 is shaped to fit comfortably to the wearers back and to press against the partition flap 32, while the transverse members 37 at top and bottom of the central member press evenly against the wearers body, being arched to give a concave shape to the pack base. The extremities of the transverse members 37 are covered by wearing pieces 38, made of leather or the like, fastened to the exterior of the pack-base member 35, as seen in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 indicates the relative positions of the front stiffening frame 16 and of the rear frame members 36, 37, spaced apart by the depth of the pack but interconnected by the flexible side walls of the pack, not shown in this figure.

The flexible tapes or loops 24 form internal connections between the pack-base member and the flaps 19-22 in the closed condition, so that these opposite surfaces of the container will be held at a distance apart determined by the length of the flexible tapes or loops, thus maintaining a substantially fiat pack with little or no bulging of the outer surfaces, any bulging of the member 35 being remote from the points of attachment of the tapes. In order to prevent such bulging more than two transversely arched members 37 may be provided, each of these members having reverse curves at its extremities; these members are preferably located at even distances apart and from the ends of the pack or container.

Between the partition flap 32 and the base member 35, there is defined a space 39 affording passageway for the back-straps or risers 40 extending from the shoul' der buckles 41 of the harness down to the seat loop; these straps or risers 40, which may be connected together by cross-pieces 43, as seen in Fig. 3, are not stitched or mechanically fastened to the pack, but are freely movable in relation thereto, within the limits set by the shoulder buckles 41 at the top and the seat loop at the bottom. Between the two risers 40, the central frame member 36 projects from the base member 35 as far as the partition flap 32, forming a barrier to keep the two risers apart, even when loose, as in the handling of the pack before fitting to the wearer; after fitting, each of the risers rests between the base member 35 and the partition flap 32 backed by the aligned rows of retaining loops 31 and the parachute canopy 25, so that uniform and comfortable distribution of pressure on the wearers body is ensured.

Openings 44 are formed at the top of the base member 35, as seen in Fig. 3, for the entry and exit of the riser 40, the lower end of this base member being narrowed as at 42 to clear the ends of the risers connecting with the seat loop and leg straps. Similarly, openings or slots 45 are formed in the top closure flap 19 to permit the lift webs 33 from the shoulder buckles 41 to be connected to the rigging lines inside the canopy compartment. If desired, the partition flap 32 may be divided longitudinally, as indicated by chain lines at 46 in Fig. 2, to allow free passage of the locking cones 23 and their tapes or ties 24, and to give access to the risers 40 in the space 39 between the flap 32 and the base member 35.

In stowing the parachute into its pack, the rigging lines 3%! will be fitted into their retaining loops 31 and the main canopy 25 then folded over them, keeping clear of the locking cones 23 and their tapes 24; the top and bottom closure flaps 19, 20 are then folded over the canopy, hinging about the ends of the stilfening frame 16, and engaged with the locking cones; next the pilot parachute 26 will be stowed over the ejector board and its spring compressed until the eyelets of the top panel can be engaged with the locking cones projecting through the closed top and bottom flaps; lastly, the two side closure flaps 21, 22 are folded over, hinging about the sides of the frame 16, and engaged with the same locking cones, an additional cone of blunt or frustum shape being fitted if desired upon one of these flaps for engagement with a corresponding eyelet upon the other, and the locking cones will then be engaged by the ripcord pins.

It will be noted that the container has the general shape of a shallow box with rounded corners, being slightly curved transversely to an outwardly convex curvature, the whole being sufficiently flexible for comfortable fitting and wear, and having no outward bulges likely to inconvenience the wearer. Bulging is restrained by the transverse frame member 37 and also by the internal connections 24, which are preferably employed together for greater efficacy. The stiffening borderframe 16, which maintains the rigidity of the outer edges of the pack without interfering with its ability to yield to movements of the wearer, may be formed of material other than spring steel wire, for example from fiat strip metal, four straight lengths being joined by four quadrantal bends of the same material riveted thereto on the flat so as to form a substantially flat ficxible frame.

Due to the box-like or satchel shape of the improved pack, the main parachute canopy 25 will remain in the pack, protected from the air stream, until the pilot or auxiliary parachute 26 has been freed and has become air-borne, the main parachute being only then progressively withdrawn from the pack. As compared with the ordinary pack, in which the whole parachute canopy becomes exposed as soon as the rip cord is pulled, with the result that the auxiliary parachute does not always perform its function of pulling out the main canopy in a straight line but allows it to be blown away by the air stream and to deploy irregularly, the present invention eliminates the danger of that phenomenon (known as thrown lines) and its resulting damage to the main canopy.

The harness may be of any suitable type, for example provided with a quick-release box carried by a belt or waist band 11 extending from the side of the pack, with releasable lugs upon the leg straps extending from the I seat loop, and other releasable lugs upon the front lift webs 13 which are shackled to back webs 40 extending from the top of the pack; the lift webs 33 then enter the pack through slot-like openings 45 on either side of the upper closure flap, just below the inner edge of the stiffening frame 16, and are connected internally of the pack to the rigging lines 30 of the main canopy. The handle of the rip cord will be mounted upon one of the front lift webs 33, with the rip cord tube curving over the wearers shoulder to bring its pins 28 into position for engagement with the locking cones, which are protected by a cover flap in the usual manner. The space beneath the lift webs and rip cord tube at the top of the pack may be utilized to accommodate an oxygen bottle resting upon the top edge of the pack; Fig. 3 shows a cover flap 47 provided with press-studs 43 for securing the oxygen bottle in place.

The harness may be detachable from the pack, as by the release of press-studs 49, 50 securing the base member 35 to the top and bottom of the pack, or the harness may be built into the pack.

It will be understood that the invention can be applied equally to parachute packs of the seat or chest-fitting types, having the canopy compartment underneath or in front instead of behind the wearer, the base member 35 and the frame or frames being modified accordingly.

What I claim is: I

1. A parachute pack comprising a flexible container of substantially rectangular shape, including a plurality of flaps normally connected together to form one wall of said container, an opposite wall adapted for contact with the body of the wearer, a flexible partition located between said walls, a frame secured to said container and extending around said first-mentioned wall substantially in the plane of said flaps, longitudinal rows of loops upon said partition adapted for retaining the rigging lines of a parachute canopy stowed in said container between said first-mentioned wall and said partition, said container being adapted for longitudinal passage of tensile members of a parachute harness between said partition and said opposite wall in alignment with said rows of retaining loops, and means for resisting bulging of said opposite wall due to presence of the parachute canopy stowed in said container.

2. A parachute pack comprising a container made of flexible material and having the general shape of a shallow rectangular box, one broad surface of said container being formed by closure flaps, a frame secured to said container and extending around said broad surface substantially in the plane of said closure flaps, said frame adapted to resist tension of said closure flaps when connected together, an opposite surface adapted for contact with the body of the wearer, a flexible partition located between said walls, rows of loops upon said partition for retaining the rigging lines of a parachute canopy stowed in said container between said broad surface and said partition, locking cones normally con- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,899,668 Campbell Feb. 28, 1933 2,316,896 Smith Apr. 20, 1943 2,542,925 Irvin Feb. 20, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 301,162 Great Britain Nov. 29, 1928 449,324 Great Britain June 22, 1936 

